"Time Share Jesus"

Have you ever received a letter announcing the good news that you have won a free weekend at a resort - all expenses paid? It sounds like good news doesn't it?  But we all know it comes with conditions. You have to visit the resort and hear their sales pitch and then if  you opt in you have to abide by the home owners association or community covenant. It is a time share after all and you can enjoy the luxury if you follow the rules.

I wonder if many feel the same way about church? It sounds like good news but in order to share in the good news there are a few house keeping matters. Is it baptism and then catechism or baptism and then confirmation? Or is it baptism and then discipleship? When should you be baptized and exactly how much water will it take? Should we sprinkle, pour or dunk? The question becomes: "How do I get in the door and partake of the free and freeing Jesus the gospels proclaim? Jesus has become the ultimate time-share marketed by the church. Jesus is the franchise of the church but to get the 'happy-meal' there are a few rules. What commandments should we keep? Are ten commandments really enough? When should we attend church and how often? Many of these issues overshadow the good news of Jesus.

I see a very different story in the scriptures. A story that is simply good news with no strings attached. A story, that if it wasn't true would be too hard to believe. I fast forward through the gospels straight to the cross and there Jesus hangs with two criminals. One of the criminals simply asks that Jesus remember him. Jesus astonishingly replies, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." No time share, no rules, just paradise for a simple request that Jesus remember him. That is good news.

I know what you are thinking - that is great for the one criminal but what about the other dying next to Jesus. For whatever reason, he looked over at Jesus and thought, "If that man is the gate to paradise I might as well go it alone."  There is no risk to simply ask Jesus to remember you.

Adelle

This blog will be simple and straight forward. I post this without fear of people thinking I am overly sentimental or getting in touch with my inner feelings.  Having three women in our household, I have been a regular user of Bath and Body Works products since they opened. Whatever the seasonal lotion and shampoo fragrance, it has been good enough for me. It will be a short leap for me to share an Adele song. People connect with her raw emotion and her ability to tell a story. In the traditional sense, with no theological baggage, she is a modern day gospel story teller. I hear the poignancy of the gospel every time I hear this song.

"Make You Feel My Love"

When the rain is blowing in your face,
And the whole world is on your case,
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear,
And there is no one there to dry your tears,
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love.

I know you haven't made your mind up yet,
But I would never do you wrong.
I've known it from the moment that we met,
No doubt in my mind where you belong.

I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue,
I'd go crawling down the avenue.
No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love.

The storms are raging on the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret.
The winds of change are blowing wild and free,
You ain't seen nothing like me yet.

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true.
Nothing that I wouldn't do.
Go to the ends of the Earth for you,
To make you feel my love
To make you feel my love

Hear the gospel story in every verse, relive the raging seas with the disciples, know their regret and sorrow, feel Jesus' own hunger and the vivid truth of him crawling (dragging the cross) down the avenue to make you feel God's love. God has gone to the ends of the earth to make us feel his love. 

"JHN 3:16"

"JHN 3:16" was scrawled in pen in the grout between the tiles in the men's restroom. What struck me most was the intentional omission of the letter 'O'. Is the name John so recognizable that the 'O' is simply not necessary? Or did the fellow bathroom preacher not have that much time? But he did have time to carefully write the remainder of his message.

I once knew another 'Jon' who did not have an 'H' in his name. I asked him about the omission in his name and his reply was that when he was little his mom beat the 'H' out of him.

That is quite another story so we return to this bathroom preacher who wanted all to know that God has so loved the world. Is there any place we are more reminded of our humanness than a public bathroom? The very thing we long for, privacy in our own homes, we have to share publicly with others and it seems very degrading. Many simply curdle at the thought of public bathroom facilities. Every bathroom has the same signs, "Please notify the management if the bathroom is not clean." Is that helpful? Have you seen the things people do in a bathroom? Cleaning is not going to do the job. Notification will not help. We leave and have that unclean sensation for several minutes. It goes beyond unsanitary conditions. We have come face to face with how human we are and it shocks our pretense of civility.

In the very center of this unsuspecting place the reminder that God loves the world comes screaming off the wall. Here? Me? In this vile place? Can God meet us in a public restroom? God meet humanity for the first time in a stable. The equivalent of an animal public facility. The utter insensibility of such a beginning that God would utter his love from such a vile and baseless location. And I find once again God repeating the message in basically the same location nearly 2,000 years latter. I think the writer was not a preacher but a prophet in carefully omitting the "O". It was a reminder that God is "Omnipresent' at all times and even shows up where we, humanly speaking, are at our worst and still declares his love for us. No "O" is necessary. God can speak for himself.

"Is Christianity too Narrow?" Part II

For those following along with this blog, let me simply state that I am blogging as a fellow seeker. I am not looking for all the answers just some space to raise pertinent questions. In the gospels Jesus asked questions in response to the questions posed to him. The problem: those asking Jesus questions were not seeking dialogue, they had the answers, they simply needed Jesus to agree. I find that is still true on many levels today. Since the formal establishment of the church and "proper" classical biblical training which includes systematic theology, we have seemingly been given all the answers. From Augustine and other Patristic fathers we have a wealth of doctrinal material. In the 8th century John of Damascus produced a treatise of established Eastern Orthodox faith. Thomas Aquinas later would add his thoughts in Summa Theological. The study of Theology includes Paterology - concerning God the Father; Christology - concerning God the Son; Pneumatolgy - concerning God the Holy Spirit. That list does not cover all the "ologies" but that is enough on that subject. My point is in what ever expression of Christian faith you adhere to, if you go to an authorized seminary or attend one of their franchise outlets you will be taught "correct" theology.

Nothing has changed from Jesus' day. Mind you there is nothing wrong with sound theology - now if more folks can get in on the dialogue it might be easier to determine a broader understanding of soundness. What I see Jesus doing in the gospels is involving a variety of different people to the dialogue of faith in God. That truly disturbed the "theologians" of the day. A conversation on faith and following God is more lively when you have former prostitutes, tax collectors, cursing fishermen, and recently resurrected folks at the dinner table than with a bunch of folks over for dinner who have "systematically" solved the issue of God and sound faith. The former dinner guest list is much more messy but very colorful. The later dinner guest list will answer your questions but leave you mostly clueless in how to follow faith in an often savage world lacking fairness and justice.

Psalm 15* raises the question; "Yahweh, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get in on your guest list?" The answer is simple and straightforward; "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth." Much theological mussing has been given to define walking straight, acting right, and telling the truth. Yet the Psalmist finds it relatively easy, "Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbor; despise the despicable. Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe." This is plain and simple: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The Psalmist makes life with God livable and practical. It calls us to make an honest living, engage in life, live faith and give grace.

*The Message Version

Life in the Ordinary

After a long term of employment in what most would be considered a "professional career" I now find myself in what most would consider "non-professional." In the realm of the church this would be defined as the secular and holy. But in the economy of God is anything not divine? It is interesting that trained clergy are considered professionals. Is any one on earth a "professional" at dealing with sin, evil, and injustice? I think we are all merely practitioners trying in every way we can to lay hold of grace. As my daughters would say, "Any who", let's move on with the story.

I now work in an assembly plant with a diverse mass of humanity. The pay is not great and the work is long, such is the world that the "average person" understands. The "average person" is not average by any means in intellect or the gift their life represents. They are "average" only by the standards assigned to them, often by an unjust world that demands goods and wants those goods as inexpensive as possible. Few rage against the corruption of corporations as long as their needs are met. I am not minimizing the efforts of "occupy Wall Street" every wave of change has to begin somewhere.

The plant I work in will produce highly sophisticated equipment that would be out of reach pricewise for all those assembling the product. The irony is that the company engineers and executives do not try to mask their feelings towards the workers. They display attitudes of superiority at every level. Few of them will know the names of those working for them nor the wealth of the story of their lives. The greater irony is that many buying the products would not associate with those who made their product. Inferior on one level; but sufficient enough to get them the product they need.

This repeats itself in a consumer economy at every turn. When we go to the grocery store we all want the same thing - cheap groceries. We shop indiscriminately never giving a thought at who toiled most likely in obscurity to provide us food. But the very hands that planted and picked our produce are a beautiful tapestry of humanity that all want what we want - life!

My current fellow workers are a work of art. There are hundreds of different shapes, colors, and languages; each beautiful in its on way. I relish observing the different hair styles and colors. Our lunch breaks are a sensory experience in the variety of foods and smells, all exotic in their own right. When I think of heaven I imagine it much more like the plant I work in than in the church I attend. There are no "professionals" or "average" persons in the lunch room. All of us are the same - hungry and tired. We all come with what we have and even in the meagerness everyone is willing to share. I see beautiful people all around me everyday that reminds me that God does love all the world. My work place helps define my prayer, "Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." Heaven on earth supersedes human categories of professional/laborer and secular/profane. Heaven on earth is: everyone gets to the table and everyone gets to eat. No life is insignificant and every life is a beautiful story. If heaven was about human achievement or meeting standards economically that define a very small minority of global humanity, would that not make heaven not only limited but really very boring? Is heaven not heaven simply because we awake to find ourselves unexpectedly loved simply for who we are not what we have or have accomplished? Is not heaven for those who in their most basic being simply desire to love God whether they can put words or expression to it?

Is Christianity too Narrow?

The question posed to us in worship this past Sunday was: "Is Christianity too narrow?" The answer for me is simply, "yes". Because the question is flawed in its inception for it assumes all  agree that faith in Christ can be defined by the inclusive term 'Christianity.' If you are in a Christian expression that defines Christianity  as adhering exclusively to a certain version of Scriptures then Christianity is too narrow. If you are in an expression of Christianity that does not allow music in worship or does allow music but it must be organ and piano music only, then Christianity is too narrow. If you are in an expression of Christianity that subjugates women then Christianity is too narrow. This list could go on adinfinitum because of the thousands of denominations all putting their spin on Christianity. All such human efforts leave us with a very narrow definition of Christianity that falls short of Jesus' words; "Let all who are weary and burdened come unto me."

In fact, Jesus  not only invited all to come unto him, from the least to the greatest, he made a practice of bridging the gap by touching the lepers, the sick and the unclean. Jesus made a practice of being found among what others considered the common and ordinary. Only those who declared themselves 'righteous' found fault with his practice of righteousness calling him a drunkard and glutton. The Pharisee's view of faith was too narrow. Jesus redefined righteousness as not being separated from those considered 'unclean' but of actually touching them in grace and kindness demonstrating right living. Jesus demonstrated righteousness by loving others. Again, "Is Christianity too narrow?" Yes, if by righteousness they mean a certain moral code that all must adhere to in order to gain access and grace. This regulates Christianity to two camps - the 'ins' and the 'outs'. That is too narrow and does not cause justice to flow down like a mighty stream of water.

Our country is polarized into opposing camps politically, regionally, and even by class. A place of  healing should be found within the "sanctuary" of the church. The church for many has not been a sanctuary - a place of healing and restoration. A narrow version of Christianity excludes many from the One who is the way, truth and the life. The Scripture declares that God is close to the brokenhearted. I believe there are many who are heavily burdened and brokenhearted in this present generation.  Christianity could have a broad appeal if we would simply follow, "For God so loved the world." That is narrow in no sense and that is not only inclusive of all people but of the world itself as expressed in creation. For God so loved the world is an expression of redemption  personally, corporately, economically, and environmentally. Let's restart the conversation by asking, "Is the way of Jesus too narrow?" With a fresh approach there is hope for all including those already within the confines of the church.